Santa Cruz & Sombrero Chino Islands
We were awoken by the voice of our Expedition Leader, Celso Montalvo, at 6:30am. “Buenos Dias, another beautiful day in the Enchanted Islands!” We disembarked northwest to Santa Cruz Island, specifically Dragon Hill. This is the area where the spectacular land iguanas nest. During our hike, we were fortunate to see several iguanas hiding from the mid-morning sun. We also encountered the Galápagos mockingbird, Darwin finches, the Galápagos flycatcher, and Black-necked Stilts. The hike was hot, but a breeze was refreshing. The forest of giant prickly cacti and incense trees gave us some shade from the sun.
After the hike, we went for deep water snorkeling and the water quickly cooled us off. There was an abundance of underwater wildlife including sea stars, many tropical fish, sea urchins, and sea turtles. We took the pangas back to the boat where we were greeted with a delicious lunch highlighted by an ice cream sundae bar.
After lunch, our ship the Polaris set sail for Sombrero Chino Island. As usual, Celso offered us several options for our visit to this island which included swimming from the beach, deep water snorkeling, kayaking, and Panga lessons for our youngest guests. The beach almost disappeared with the high tide, but the guests did enjoy the opportunity to stroll along the sand. The snorkeling allowed us to swim with the Galápagos penguins and observe many more tropical fish and a large stingray. The kayaking was very challenging due to a rough tide, but it was a lot of fun. We finished the day with an outstanding barbeque in the fresh air on the teak deck. It was a day to remember in paradise: the Galápagos Islands.
We were awoken by the voice of our Expedition Leader, Celso Montalvo, at 6:30am. “Buenos Dias, another beautiful day in the Enchanted Islands!” We disembarked northwest to Santa Cruz Island, specifically Dragon Hill. This is the area where the spectacular land iguanas nest. During our hike, we were fortunate to see several iguanas hiding from the mid-morning sun. We also encountered the Galápagos mockingbird, Darwin finches, the Galápagos flycatcher, and Black-necked Stilts. The hike was hot, but a breeze was refreshing. The forest of giant prickly cacti and incense trees gave us some shade from the sun.
After the hike, we went for deep water snorkeling and the water quickly cooled us off. There was an abundance of underwater wildlife including sea stars, many tropical fish, sea urchins, and sea turtles. We took the pangas back to the boat where we were greeted with a delicious lunch highlighted by an ice cream sundae bar.
After lunch, our ship the Polaris set sail for Sombrero Chino Island. As usual, Celso offered us several options for our visit to this island which included swimming from the beach, deep water snorkeling, kayaking, and Panga lessons for our youngest guests. The beach almost disappeared with the high tide, but the guests did enjoy the opportunity to stroll along the sand. The snorkeling allowed us to swim with the Galápagos penguins and observe many more tropical fish and a large stingray. The kayaking was very challenging due to a rough tide, but it was a lot of fun. We finished the day with an outstanding barbeque in the fresh air on the teak deck. It was a day to remember in paradise: the Galápagos Islands.
